If you are new to working out or have been away for awhile, it's very important to build up your infrastructure, tendons, ligaments, joints, connective tissue all over before lifting heavy weights IMO. The most injuries I have seen are due to guys going "back in the gym" after a couple or ten years and trying to push too much weight too fast. "Well I did 275 easy in HS... AAAAAAHHEHEHEHAHAAAA! f-ck! o sh-t!" Be especially careful of your shoulders/rotator cuffs, hamstrings and groin.
Consider 4-6 months of moderate weight circuit training, about 60-75% of 1 rep max, 3 sets of ten, minimal rest between sets, gradually increasing weight over time. Start with your big compound exercises, alernate push-pull exercises to the extent possible, then down into the more specific isolation exercises. Try for 30 sets in 30-40 minutes, and ten different exercises the next day. Try for somewhat explosive lifting motion in one second, then more controlled 2-3 second decline motion. You can do this every day, alternating, without getting very sore at all, and will burn fat without losing muscle if your diet is right. Then after that phase you can get into the more focused strength or bulk training depending on what your goals are.
My exercises for this phase are Day 1 - Bench press, seated row machine, leg press, leg curl, lat pulldown, pec deck, reverse shoulder fly, calf raise, leg extension, captain chair leg raise
Day 2 - military overhead press, seated row machine, leg press, barbell shrug, bicep curl, seated calf raise, shoulder buttefly machine, roman chair back raise, tricep pressdown, wild card
I do seated row, calf raise and leg press both days. Good luck.
Pardon any incorrect vocabulary, I don't know all the workout lingo.
